For A Wish
by YelloWitchGrl
Summary: Post HBP ONESHOT! Ginny's birthday is not what she would have hoped for! Her mother forgets, her brothers prank her and the love of her life has left for who knows where? Can the day get any worse?


**For A Wish**

The sunlight streamed in through the small crack in her drapes that she could never quite get to stay closed. It hit her sleeping eyes perfectly as it did every morning. Ginny groaned softly and lifted herself enough to flop over to her stomach, attempting to escape what, in her opinion, was an obnoxious reminder that the day had just begun.

It was no use, however. The sun still danced in and tickled the back of her neck, prodding her to leave the shelter of her bed. Ginny turned over onto her side and glared at the flowery drape and the dancing particles of dust that sparkled in the day's rays, that seemed to be taunting her, daring her to sleep in. She kept wishing that she did not have to rise and remember what today was… her birthday. For once in her life, Ginny was also pretty sure that her Mum had forgotten.

Ginny sighed dejectedly and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, sitting up and taking the hair tie from where she had left it last night, on her wrist, she pulled her hair up in a ponytail, away from her face. She felt the end of her hair caress the bare skin at the small of her back between her shorts and her tank top that she always slept in during the summer holidays. She ran her hand down the length, feeling the smooth, soft hair glide between her fingers.

She vividly remembered the last person to touch her hair that way, tentatively running his calloused fingers through her auburn locks and he smiled at her in a way that left her breathless. But he wasn't here, no one was and she would be alone, without friends, on her sixteenth birthday and instantly she felt a sob well up in her throat.

He had left her eleven days ago, right after his birthday party. He, Ron and Hermione had all set out together to go do whatever it was that they were going to do and left her without any explanation, although she couldn't say that she was too surprised. Ginny had attempted to follow them soon after realizing that they had left but her Mum had caught her and confiscated her wand.

"Damn creaky floor boards," Ginny muttered before finally standing and raising her arms above her head, stretching out the last vestiges of sleep. "I should have known better;" she said resolutely to the hollowness of her room. _There is nothing that will put you in your place more than knowing you aren't wanted or needed_, she thought morosely. _I was an idiot to think that I could be a part of their group and that they might need me… that he might want me._

She swiped at a stray tear and pulled the robe from her bedpost and donned it. Ginny padded towards her bedroom door and walked down the hall before descending the stairs expecting a quiet breakfast in her silent house. Her Mum was supposed to be at Grimmauld Place all day wresting with the grime that was threatening to take over again. She had been away a lot since Ron had left. Ginny suspected it was to keep herself from worrying too much. There had not been any post from Ron, Harry or Hermione. It was starting to drive Ginny mad too.

Ginny had stepped onto the landing when two voices from the kitchen stopped her.

"I can't believe she would forget about that." It was her oldest brother, Bill talking in a hushed whisper.

Phlegm answered him just as softly. "Eet 'as been an 'orrible time weeth zem running off like zat!"

Ginny had to stifle a giggle, her first cheerful moment in over a week. She knew it was petty to call the other woman 'Phlegm' but she couldn't help it. Fleur Weasley was everything Ginny despised in a woman, even if she did love Bill. Fleur was so obsessed with herself and how she looked that she could not ever be completely redeemed in Ginny's eyes. Memories of her brother's wedding the previous month came flooding back to her.

Gabrielle had run straight up to Harry before the wedding and kissed his cheek. She was willowy and almost his height and it was easy to tell that Harry thought she was beautiful. Ron did as well but he was very reserved around her since his girlfriend, Hermione was there as well.

There she had stood, looking completely out of place next to a pre-pubescent, albeit gorgeous Gabrielle Delacour and the radiant Fleur during the wedding. Her gown was a beautiful gold and on any other occasion, Ginny would have felt like a princess. But just then she had to stop herself from crying and making an arse of herself.

All in all it had been a crummy day, as Ginny knew that even if she was looking her best, she would always look plain next to the two part Veelas. The worst part had been that Harry had not even looked at her once the whole day. He danced with many of the other women but he constantly kept his distance from Ginny. She had spent several hours crying over him in the confines of her bedroom and still she hadn't purged herself of the horrible feeling of rejection that stuck to her like her own skin.

She wasn't going to ever be enough.

Fleur's voice interrupted her rambling, derisive thoughts on herself. "Eet does not matter." Ginny heard a loud kissing noise and felt her gag reflex nearly consume her. She swallowed hard and was about to take another step down the stairs when the voice from below stopped her again. "We will tell 'er about our new bebe later."

Ginny's foot missed the next step and he legs went out from beneath her, causing her to fall flat on her bum and slide the rest of the way down the stairs, bouncing heavily as she went. Her bottom hit each step with a thump, and even though she tried to grab on to the railing and plant her feet, she couldn't stop, and continued on her painfully unorthodox descent, until finally, she landed at the bottom. "Oww!" Ginny groaned not daring to even attempting to stand at the moment. She could also not believe her ears. _They can't be having a baby already!_

Hurried footsteps came rapidly towards her. Ginny looked up through a shaft of sunlight to see her brother and sister-in-law, both tanned and both wearing an expression of concern.

"Ginny are you-" Bill stopped and his face split into a mischievous grin. "Hi Peanut. Watch'a doing down there for?"

"Ha-ha, very funny Bill," Ginny quipped. "Help me up." Ginny held her hand out to have it engulfed by a much larger one; the hand that belonged to the brother who had always protected her and for whom she had always come first. She glanced quickly at Fleur before turning back to her brother and giving him a long hug. "Welcome home." She moved briefly to Fleur and hugged her in turn, although it was short and certainly stiff. Ginny felt that she and her new sister would never share a natural hug.

"You're up early," Bill commented dryly as he slung his arm over her shoulder and led her off towards the kitchen. "I didn't expect for you to about until noon today."

Ginny tried to smile. "Why would I sleep in? I didn't do anything last night and I certainly won't be up to anything today."

"I thought eet was your birthday?" Fleur asked while she sat down at the beaten wooden table. She could feel the other woman's eyes on her but she did not look up nor respond. She merely sat and traced her finger along a grove in the smooth wood that had been there as long as she could remember. Ginny was lost in thoughts about blond babies and how dangerous that would be with the war going on.

Bill finally broke the tense silence. "Happy birthday, Peanut."

It used to make Ginny grimace every time he used his pet name for her. She'd rebuff him and order him to never say that again, especially if he used it while others were around. Now she felt herself clinging to it and reveling in the comfort that came with it. She needed to hold on to something or she'd be sobbing and it would not do for Phlegm to see that. "Thank you," she replied softly, still not looking up.

A heavy silence filled the room so that only the _tick tock_ of the grandfather clock could be heard. Ginny's mind drifted off again. _Oh she's going to be a right pain in my arse if she is preg-_

"Woof." 

Ginny spun quickly around in her seat to stare at the kitchen door. It barked again and her mouth dropped open. _What could possibly be behind the-_

"I'll let her in," Bill moved swiftly to the door and opened it a small crack so that a puffy, white ball of hair could streak past Ginny and straight for Fleur who bent down and scooped the tiny cotton ball into her arms.

"Oh, is my bebe 'appy to see me?" Fleur crooned in a singsong voice as the hairball licked happily at her face with its long pink tongue.

"Baby?" Ginny asked faintly. She had half raised from her chair but upon seeing what was obviously a dog, she sank back into her chair. _Praise Merlin for small favors._

Bill walked over to Fleur, placing one arm around her waist and using the other scratch the top of the puffball's head. He winked at Ginny and smiled amusedly. "Ginny, I would like you meet you niece, Sophie."

Ginny couldn't help it; she began to laugh. She had been shocked and worrying so horribly for the past few minutes that she had actually fallen down the stairs. She swiped at the tears that were now streaming down her face as she tried to speak. "Well… at least," she gasped, still trying to catch her breath and giving up. She was sure that Bill and Fleur thought her mad. When she'd finally calmed enough to make sense, she tried again. "At least I'll have one niece."

Ginny looked up at Phlegm and saw that she was glancing between Bill and herself, obviously confused. "What does zat mean, Ginny?"

Bill cleared his throat. "I think she is implying that we Weasleys usually only have boys so Ginny doesn't expect to ever get a niece from us."

Fleur's mouth dropped open comically, turning her beautiful face into an expression one would find on a cartoon character. "Only boys?" Her voice had taken on a sharp, tinny tenor and she seemed to be hugging the small dog rather harder than necessary.

Ginny knew she was being malicious but she couldn't help herself. There was no way that she could picture Phlegm being domestic. "Well, it's not like you two will have any daughters unless you're willing to try for seven children."

Fleur went pale, or at least paler than normal, and rounded on Bill. "She is joking, oui?"

Bill shook his head and bent to kiss her softly. "Let's go and talk about this. We can leave Ginny to get acquainted with Sophie." He plucked the small dog from her arms and set it on the ground before steering Fleur out of the kitchen and up the stairs, presumably towards one of the vacant bedrooms. _There are a lot of them now,_ Ginny thought sullenly. It was really hard being the only child at home.

She sighed and stood to fix herself some tea when a small 'yip' from the floor reminded her that she was not alone. Ginny eyed the dog warily, not sure what the titchy beast might do. Eventually, she decided to talk to it. "It's best I warn you that there is a very large and rather mean cat skulking about at the moment. If he sees you, you might be eaten." The small, black eyes stared up at her and Sophie sat down on her haunches as she continued to listen. Ginny felt somewhat taken aback by this reaction. Not knowing what to do, she continued to ramble on. "Also, I have a Pigmy Puff named Arnold and you're to leave him alone or else…" Then another thought occurred to her. "Oh, and don't pee in the house. Mum would go ballistic, and since you're her first grandchild-" she stopped and ran a hand over her tense brow. "What am I doing here talking to a dog?"

"Are you sure that's a dog?"

"AAAHH!" Ginny screamed and jumped several feet in the air, before tripping over the rug that lay in front of the sink and falling to her bum for the second time in ten minutes. She looked up over the table to find her twin brothers grinning broadly at her.

"Sorry Ginny, I didn't mean to scare you," said Fred, but the grin on his face told her otherwise.

Sophie chose that moment to start barking madly at the twins. Her small bark sounded comical and her attempt to defend Ginny from the twins was somewhat diminished, owing to the fact that Sophie did not even come up past their ankles.

George tried to move the dog with his foot but she would have no part of it and took a bite out of the end of his trainer. "What the-"

"Sophie!" Ginny commanded sharply and the fuzz ball instantly stopped yelping and retreated over to Ginny, intent on licking her face. The dog climbed onto her stomach and her small, pink tongue began to bathe Ginny's chin.

This set the twins laughing. "Oh Fred," George began as tears of mirth streamed down his face. "I think that Harry is in for a bit of competition!"

"Too right," Fred agreed and Ginny could see that he was doubled over and holding his side.

Ginny tried to open her mouth to protest but no words issued forth and she felt that prickling sensation behind her eyes that indicated she was close to tears. _They don't know how wrong they are_.

It seemed Fred and George were completely oblivious to her state of mental turmoil. "All this time she's been pining for him and who does he lose out to?" Fred was now wheezing, his breath coming out in gasps.

George was no better off. "And after she wrote such lovely poetry for him! How did that go Fred?"

Ginny's throat closed up. She knew what poem they were referring to. They usually brought it up at least once a year and they were just about due to start teasing her again. _I'm not sure I can take anymore!_

But Fred had gone on, despite how horrible Ginny felt inside, not knowing what he was doing to her. "His eyes are as green as fresh pickled toad."

"His hair is as dark as a black board!" George crooned after him.

"SHUT UP!" Ginny bellowed, scaring Sophie so badly that the small dog took off and attempted to run up the stairs after Bill and Fleur. She kept falling back down the steps, however, and eventually gave up and ran off for another part of the house that did not involve stairs. "Just shut up, the both of you!"

Fred and George instantly shut their mouths and glared at her. "There's no need to shout, you know," George said reprovingly.

"Yes, we have perfectly normal hearing," Fred informed her. "Despite what Mum says."

Ginny breathed out slowly, resisting the urge to punch one of them. She was getting good at mastering her temper. _If I start shouting now I'll be sure to end up crying and then they'll know something is wrong. I don't want to worry them._ Their identical eyes were studying her, though, in a way that told her that they already knew what she was thinking. She needed a distraction. "What are you two doing here anyway?"

"We've come to tea," George told her and took out his wand. He moved over to the stove and set the kettle boiling.

Fred walked over and guided her none-too-gently into a seat at the table. "Happy birthday little sis."

"Which is why we are here, of course." George informed her as the teakettle let out a shriek of protest. He removed it and poured tea for Ginny while placing something in her cup, all the while attempting to be discreet. Ginny narrowed her eyes and watched him as he turned and beamed at her before placing her teacup in front of her and handing Fred his cup, and sitting down with his own.

Ginny looked down at her tea. _I don't even want to guess at what he put in this_. She acted, therefore, without really thinking. She grabbed George's cup in her one hand and pushed her own cup towards him with the other. Before he could react, she slid her tongue along the whole rim of the teacup. George's look of disgust told her that she'd achieved what she wanted. _Sometimes it is very nice to be the little sister and to be able to get away with doing gross things like that, _she thought smugly.

Fred was laughing hysterically. "She caught you and I told you that she would!"

"Shut it," George replied, staring glumly down into his cup of swirling, steaming tea.

Fred obviously didn't want to let it go. "You going to drink that mate?" he asked his twin gleefully.

George shrugged and picked up the cup before raising it to Ginny. "Cheers," and he downed the whole content at once.

For a moment, Ginny thought it hadn't done anything but just as the thought ran through her head, George opened his mouth and let out a soft _hiss_ before standing up hastily. He fluffed his hair and curtsied nicely. Ginny looked over at Fred and saw that he was not even bothering to hide his raucous laughter. _Very soon he is going to fall off his chair_, Ginny thought.

Then George began to sing in an unnaturally high-pitched voice.

"_I feel pretty, __  
__Oh, so pretty, __  
__I feel pretty and witty and bright! __  
__And I pity __  
__Any girl who isn't me tonight_."

_Thump_! Fred had slipped off his chair.

"_I feel charming, __  
__Oh, so charming __  
__It's alarming how charming I feel! __  
__And so pretty __  
__That I hardly can believe I'm real_."

He gave a half twirl, like a ballerina before holding up his hand, as if it were a mirror that he was gazing into.

"_See the pretty girl in that mirror there: __  
__Who can that attractive girl be? __  
__Such a pretty face, __  
__Such a pretty dress, __  
__Such a pretty smile, __  
__Such a pretty me_!"

George gave a half skip and then mimed fixing his make-up.

"_I feel stunning __  
__And entrancing, __  
__Feel like running and dancing for joy, __  
__For I'm loved __  
__By a pretty wonderful boy_!"

He curtsied again and sank heavily back in his chair.

Ginny was giggling madly, relieved to have something to laugh about. Fred hauled himself back up into his seat, tear streaks marking his freckled face. "I reckon it was funnier having you do it anyway, George." He let out a satisfied sigh and chuckled again.

Ginny's stomach hurt so badly from how hard she had laughed. "That song was very creative, even for you two!"

"Ah well, we can't take the credit for it, baby sis," Fred told her sagely.

George nodded and continued for his twin, although his voice still resonated in the same high tone that it had adopted for the song. "No, it is from a Muggle play."

She felt her eyebrow rise, quite of its own accord. "What were you doing watching a Muggle play?"

"Well," Fred cleared his throat and looked slightly uncomfortable. "It was all Angelina's doing really."

"Yeah," George replied defensively. "She made us go! We didn't want to!"

Fred nodded, clearly agitated. "She kept harping on us until we went with her and then we had to listen to all these stupid songs about romance and men with only half a face-"

"-and crashing chandeliers!" George stopped and grinned at his twin. "No wait, that was the cool bit."

"So then, we got the idea that maybe the Muggles had more stupid songs that we could use," Fred replied, almost looking modest. Almost. The look never did really sit well on either of their faces. It was always tainted with a hint of mischief, which voided it.

Ginny shook her head, still amazed at them. "So, what do you call them?"

"Show Tune Sweets," George replied.

Fred winked at her. "It is your birthday gift from us. We brought you two of each sweet that we have. That's a total of 48 gags to play on your friends."

"That includes such memorable songs as 'How Lovely To Be A Woman', 'Bye Bye Birdie', 'A Secretary Is Not A Toy'-"

"I'm not sure I agree with that last one," Fred said, interrupting his brother.

"- And out personal favorite, 'The Tango Maureen', which is a lovely little song about a man and his ex-girlfriend's-"

"George!" Fred admonished, clearing his throat. "I doubt very much that that song is for innocent little ears."

George snorted and pointed over at Ginny. "I doubt very much that she's all that innocent."

"Hey!" Ginny bellowed, completely insulted. "I am…" but her voice drifted off. _What am I, exactly? I've certainly seen enough in my life that I am not naïve anymore._ Unbidden, the tears came back to her and she ducked her head quickly so that they wouldn't spot them.

"So, how's it going with Mum?" Fred asked quickly.

"Yeah, we hear she took your wand," George said.

Ginny nodded. "I don't know where she put it and I can't go looking because she knows when I do and shows up to yell at me. It's like trying to get past a Manticore guarding a treasure. I swear she gets worse every year."

"I hear ya, sis," Fred said, reaching over the table to pat her on the head.

She swatted at his hand, batting it away. "Anyway, why are you two really here and how come you remembered it was my birthday?"

George put his hand to his temple, looking horrified. "How could you possibly imagine that we would forget your birthday?"

"I'm crushed that you have so little faith in us," Fred said, scowling.

Ginny threw her hands up in the air and stood, knocking her chair backwards onto the floor. "You two forgot my birthday last year and the year before that and _this year_ even Mum forgot!"

They actually looked stricken then. "Ginny, she wouldn't have forgotten your-"

"SHE DID!" Ginny bellowed, nearly tripping over her chair to make a break for the stairs. "You don't see her here right now, do you?"

"No but-" Fred had stood and held up his hands in a placating manner.

"Is this a bad time?"

Ginny couldn't help it, she screamed and so did George in that same, high-pitched girlie way. They both spun on the spot while Fred began firing hexes at the intruders who had just entered the room.

Amazingly enough, all of the spells were all blocked or deflected and within seconds, Fred was stunned and falling flat on his face.

Ginny stared hard at the person who looked like her youngest brother, Ron and his girlfriend, Hermione, but did not trust that they were really there. _They left with Harry, so they can't be here… and without him!_

Ron raised his wand and Hermione shot a red light at Fred, who woke up instantly. "Wha'?" He looked around groggily.

"We're just here for supplies," Hermione informed her, looking her straight in the eye.

_Ask them a question only they could know_, Ginny's mind screamed at her. "What did I do to McLaggen after he hit Harry with the blugger?"

Hermione didn't miss a beat, "You turned his underwear into a lacy, pink thong that he was not able to remove for over a month." She did blush a deep scarlet as she spoke but did not look away or falter.

Ginny let out a sigh of relief. "It's her Fred," then another thought hit her. "Or McLaggen and I doubt he would admit what I did to him. He didn't even tell the teachers even though he knew it was me."

She looked over at her brothers and smiled. They all wore the same masks of horror and pride on their faces.

Fred, who had scrambled to his feet, finally broke the silence. "Please tell me you aren't serious."

But Ginny wasn't listening to him; her primary concern was where it usually was. "Where's Harry?" She kept her gaze locked on Hermione as she spoke.

Hermione's face fell. "He… he wouldn't come."

Ginny's heart sank and her lips trembled violently as she fought to speak. "He doesn't want to face me, does he? On my damn birthday, which my own Mum forgot!" she finished this sentence in near hysterics but the worst had not yet even come.

A sharp gasp came from the kitchen door. Unbeknownst to her, or anyone else, her mother had walked in to hear her final rant. Ginny spun to face the tired, older woman and saw that her eyes were filled with tears. _That confirms it, she really did forget!_ Her Mum's face showed exactly how terrible she, Ginny, felt.

She couldn't hold back any longer and Ginny began to sob, her entire body shaking with the force of it. Instantly she felt several sets of arms surrounding her, holding her tight and she wept out all of the miserable feelings that she had stored up over the past week. But Ginny didn't want their comfort. It was little consolation for what she had been through so far and it would not make Harry want her again. Part of her knew that she was being ridiculous but she couldn't stop herself. She broke free from them and ran up the stairs, shouting over her shoulder as she went, "Just leave me alone today!"

She ran past a very shocked looking Bill and Phlegm, nearly knocking her brother over as she went and sprinted down the hall towards her room. She flew through the open door and slammed it shut. A yelp from the corner caught her attention and she slowly turned to see Sophie chewing on Ginny's favorite pair of trainers. "AARGH!" She marched over, picked up the small dog, wrenched the shoe from her small mouth and evicted the fluff ball from her room, slamming the door again in a very satisfying way.

Ginny looked down at the small teeth marks and slime that now coated her shoe. It looked like Sophie had also managed to eat part of the shoelace. _How and when did Sophie get upstairs? This is just all too much!_ Ginny chucked the trainer at the wall and moved over to her bed, pulling away the quilt and curling up into a small ball, hugging her pillow tight so that it could catch her tears.

She didn't remember when she fell asleep.

OoO

When Ginny awoke, the sun no longer shone merrily into her room; there were no dancing beams to taunt her and push her from bed. Her eyes felt swollen and her mouth was parched. She rubbed at her eyes, feeling a slight headache building behind her eyes as she slowly sat and noticed a tray of sandwiches and a tall class of pumpkin juice that looked ice cold. She took the glass, feeling the condensed water from the outside of the glass soak her hands. For some reason, this comforted Ginny like nothing else had. _Someone obviously put the charms on this to keep it this cold a while ago and I slept through it._ She drained the glass in one long drink and set it back down on the tray.

Ginny decided to shower before she ate. She stood slowly and grabbed for herself a fresh set of clothes from the laundry basket on the floor. _Mum has been asking me to put those clothes away all week_, she mused and nearly smiled. She felt as if she had slept for several years and her entire body ached. Ginny opened the door and peered out to see that the hall was deserted, so she quickly walked down to the loo before anyone noticed her.

After she was showered and dressed, she silently made her way back to her room, pushing open the door, and saw a dark haired man sitting on her bed, eating one of her sandwiches. She tried to scream but he flicked his wand at her and silenced her. Ginny turned to run but she found the door had closed behind her and no matter how hard she pulled and pounded on the door, it wouldn't open.

She jumped when she felt two warm hands settle onto her shoulders and she quaked as the man turned her around. Ginny looked up into the emerald eyes that she had stared into, dreaming her childish dreams of happily ever after, and could not trust that _he_ was really here.

"You can speak again Ginny," the Harry look-a-like told her.

She shook her head, dismissing him, fighting to remember that he wouldn't be here with her. "You… aren't… how," then another thought hit her and she had to ask. "How did you get in here?"

He blushed slightly but his expression did not change from the serious one it had worn since she had walked in. "I snuck in. I didn't want to face the rest of your family."

"Blood brilliant, I'm dead! You are the-" she cut off and did a quick mental count, "-the eighth person to sneak into this house without my knowing! The Death Eaters are going to have an easy time killing me, especially since I don't have a wand anymore!"

"What?" Harry asked quickly, showing the first signs of an expression, which was horror and… and if she read it right, fear. "Where is your wand?"

"Mum took it when I tried to follow you three last week," Ginny told him and she knew she sounded very bitter. _I shouldn't have bothered, you obviously didn't want me with you or else you would have taken me along._ Ginny closed her eyes, trying to rein in the tears that were trying to escape from her eyes.

Harry cleared his throat, "I brought you something."

Ginny's eyes flew open and saw that he was holding a small, square birthday cake that looked rather lumpy. It had white icing with letters written in green, HBG. "What does that mean?"

"Uh, well I didn't have enough space to write so it means 'Happy Birthday Ginny'," he set the cake on her night stand and pulled a green candle from his pocket, before sticking it in the cake and lighting it with his wand. He turned back to her and she saw that his eyes were guarded. "Make a wish, Gin."

Ginny swallowed the lump that was clogging her throat. "I don't even know if it is really you."

Harry nodded slowly, obviously thinking. "You and I stopped under the large Beech tree when we walked, after our first kiss and you told me that I have the most beautiful eyes you have ever seen."

She had to close her eyes again, feeling herself swaying dangerously as the memories rushed back, unbidden, unwanted and so painful that she didn't know how to handle them. The two hands of the man she loved closed around her waist, keeping her steady. Her eyes flitted open and met his. _I don't know what to say to him. I have wanted to hit him and kiss him since he ended it but I can't see him wanting anything from me now._

"Do you believe it's me?" Harry asked and she nodded. "Then blow out your candle and make a wish."

Ginny took a deep breath and moved away from the warmth of his hands to blow out her candle and make a foolish, childish wish to go along with her fairy tale dreams. _I wish he would need me the way I need him._ She blew it out, feeling like she was extinguishing the last bit of her hope that was still alive and burning inside of her heart.

"But I do need you!" Harry exclaimed, completely shocking her.

"What?" Ginny asked in complete bewilderment, sure that she must have misheard him.

He licked his lips and replied, "I wrote you a poem."

_None of this is making sense_! "You wrote what?"

"A poem, and that candle… Hermione charmed it to let me know what your wish was, so I could make it come true." Harry blushed again and his eyes narrowed. "How could you think that I don't need you?"

Ginny's mouth fell open. She felt violated and more than a little miffed at her bushy haired friend. "You haven't even looked at me since we left school and you've ignored me! Don't change the subject though," she told him, now nearly yelling, her tears almost forgotten… almost. "You were invading my private thoughts!"

Harry frowned but ignored what she had said. "I am going to share the poem with you that I wrote."

"Oh, you sure you didn't have Hermione write it?" Ginny asked scathingly, although hating herself for sounding so snarky.

"I'm sure!" Harry said and then he sighed. "Okay, here goes,"

"_Her eyes are as brown as warm chocolate milk_

_Her hair is as red as the setting sun_

_I wish I could call her mine_

_She's so beautiful and divine_

_The girl I'll come back to when we've won_."He finished and fiddled nervously with something that was in his pocket.

"Oh Harry… that was… that was…" Ginny couldn't even say what that had meant to her.

"It's terrible, I know." Harry said blandly, almost dejectedly.

Ginny considered him for a moment, very touched by what he had said but an old spark of her mischief was apparently still alive in her. "Well, it wasn't a great poem but if you meant it-"

"Of course I did!"

"-then it's beautiful to me," she finished quietly. He met her eyes and smiled briefly but did not speak. When she couldn't stand it anymore, she broke the tense silence. "Why are you here?"

"I couldn't take it anymore," Harry told her simply and she waited for him to explain further. She didn't have to wait long. "I didn't look at you so that I could leave you. When I had to see you, especially at Bill's wedding when you were so beautiful-"

Ginny let out a derisive snort. She knew he couldn't believe that if he had seen her next to Phlegm and Gabrielle.

Harry moved her backwards until she hit the bed and sat down. He kneeled in front of her, framing her face with his two large and calloused hands. His thumb ran along her cheek, wiping away the tears she did not even know she was crying. "You were beautiful, you're _always _beautiful and just because you have two part-Veela in your family now does not mean that you can't outshine them. Their attraction is a magical trick but yours is real and all you."

Ginny let out another sob, she was crying freely now. "When did you get to be so smart?"

"About three hours ago," Harry admitted honestly. "I didn't come earlier today, even though I wanted to see you so badly on your birthday. When Hermione got back and told me that your Mum had forgotten, I decided I couldn't take it anymore. I knew you would be so hurt by her forgetting and I also know that it's my fault she forgot." He put a finger to her lips, stopping her immediate protest. "It is my fault, well mine and Ron and Hermione's. We ran off and haven't written, and we knew that she would worry herself sick over it. With all of that stress, along with everything else going on, she forgot. She also forgot Bill and Fleur were coming home today."

"How do you know?" Ginny asked, feeling her eyes widen.

"She told Ron before he left," Harry explained.

"So, you're just here to wish me a happy birthday, and then leave again?"

Harry gulped and went pale. "No, I said it in the song… the last line."

Her brow furrowed as she thought back to the song, "_The girl I'll come back to when we've won_?"

"Yes, I'll come back again when we've won," he nodded, and took a hand away from her face to reach into his pocket. Her cheek protested against the warmth it missed from so simple a gesture as his hand stroking it. He pulled out a small, golden ring with a single diamond atop it. Ginny gasped and her hands flew up to her mouth. "I love you and… and… Ginevra Molly Weasley, will you marry me?" Harry's voice shook and his face was full of anxiety and fear.

Ginny felt her hands slowly drop and a smile spread across her face. _Who would have thought that my worst birthday ever could turn out so good?_ She bent down and kissed him softly before whispering, "No."

His eyes widened in shock and his hands dropped as he stumbled back from where he was kneeling down in front of her. "No?" he asked.

"No!" she exclaimed and grabbed his hands as she realized what she had said. "No…I mean, yes, I will marry you, Harry," she hastened to explain. "But not when _you_ come back. I will marry you when _we_ come back. I'm not going to let you go off again, Harry, leaving me behind to worry. I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not." Her face was set in stubborn determination.

Harry's body sagged as he let out a sigh of relief. "For a moment there, I thought …"

Ginny shook her head and slid to the ground in front of him. Her hands went around his neck as his hands encircled her waist. She held him close to her not at all willing to let him go. And as she lifted her face a moment later and met his lips in a soft kiss, she knew that she was home, right here in his arms.

**The End**

**Please Review if you have any critiques. I am always looking for ways to improve!**

**A/N:** Am I allowed to rip off my own idea? Well, the show tune is from the musical **West Side Story** and all credit goes to them for it! The other song titles are from the musicals, **Bye Bye Birdie, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying **and** Rent.** I just laughed hysterically when my husband asked, after reading Meet Me In St. Mungo's, why I didn't have Voldemort sing "I Feel Pretty." So I've worked in here.

Much thank goes to my Beta **Oomahey** for all of your hard work and for keeping me on track!

I would also like to thank, **JPx** and **wvchemteach** for all of your support and advice! You two really helped me make this happen.


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